


Beyond the Paradoxical

by Inkyrius



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Fluff, I don't know if this is quite what you were hoping for but that's what treats are for right, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-23 11:11:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9653522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkyrius/pseuds/Inkyrius
Summary: Ryou had only been back in Japan for a week when he found the Millennium Ring sitting on his bed. The Spirit it contained wasn't quite the one he expected.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cerberusia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerberusia/gifts).



> I'm a huge fan of post-canon AUs that have the magic continuing even after the final duel, so this was a fun prompt to work with. Happy Valentine's Day!

Ryou had only been back in Japan for a week when it happened. He’d come home from a perfectly ordinary day at school, and the Millennium Ring was sitting on his bed. _I just wanted to drop off my bag_ , he thought inanely.

He couldn’t really claim to be surprised. If anything, his immediate reaction was somewhere between resignation and relief. At least he didn’t have to wait anymore. He was happy for Yugi and Atem, but there was no way his Spirit would be exorcised that easily. Besides, having his soul to himself was almost foreign after so long sharing it. What had he done with all that time conscious?

He stared at the Ring as if he could will it to go away, at least for a little while. When that failed, he closed the door again. After the Spirit lost to the Pharaoh, there was a window of time where he was too weak to take control. If Ryou acted quickly, he might be able to take advantage of that.

He set his bag down on his couch, schoolwork forgotten, and began planning what to say. The Spirit needed Ryou. Battle City had been proof of that. And while the Ring could show up at his house time and time again, it had yet to materialize around his neck. He knew he was going to end up putting it on at some point, that Destiny wouldn’t let go of him that easily, but this time he was going to do it on his terms.

At the very least, maybe he could get the Spirit to stop trying to murder his friends.

Ryou spent a few hours preparing his speech, and another few psyching himself to give it. He finally gave in when his desire to sleep outweighed his desire not to deal with the Spirit. He strode into the room, picking up the Ring and putting it on in one swift motion. “So, you’ve come crawling back here once again. Have you finally learned that you’re never going to succeed? I mean, look at you. You keep losing more badly than ever, and then you come back and concoct an even less effective plot.”

He took a breath, waiting for the Spirit’s reaction. He didn’t expect a response, not yet, but some sort of emotional reaction would help him decide how to continue.

He got nothing at all. Frowning, he tentatively nudged the walled off part of his soul. The fact that there was such a place meant that the Spirit was definitely there, but he was weaker than Ryou had ever felt him. Even when he’d first put on the Ring, the Spirit had had a stronger presence than he did now.

Ryou squashed the concern he felt rising. This was good, it meant he had time to strengthen his arguments. He wasn’t going to worry about the monster who’d used him for his own nefarious purposes, no matter how accustomed he’d gotten to said monster’s company.

Ryou rubbed the Ring’s prongs idly. How long did he have until the Spirit regained enough of his power to be able to pay attention to Ryou’s demands? And once that happened, how long until he started taking over again?

Ryou noticed that his heart was racing. For that matter, his breathing was getting faster and shallower. That probably wasn’t a good sign.

He took the Ring off carefully and left it on the coffee table in the living room. He could deal with it later, hopefully. For now, he just wanted to go to bed, and he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep with it watching him.

This proved to be pointless when he woke up the next morning to find it on his bedside table. He stared at it for a moment. “No,” he said. “I will deal with you later. Right now, I’m going to go enjoy a perfectly normal day at school.”

He tried to get ready the way he had for the past week, though he had to fight the urge to look over his shoulder every five seconds. He wasn’t sure what he’d be looking for anyway. The Spirit should still be weak from last night, especially since Ryou wasn’t giving him the opportunity to siphon any of his energy. Nothing should have changed, and nothing should change between now and when he got back from school. It would be fine.

He realized he’d been staring into space and rushed to finish getting ready.

It was apparent by the end of his first class that he needn’t have bothered. There was absolutely no way he was going to be able to pay attention to the lecture. His friends didn’t seem to notice his distraction, at least. They were still mourning the loss of the Pharaoh. Ryou considered telling them about the Ring’s return anyway, but that seemed likely to cause them unnecessary stress.

When his last class ended, he all but ran home, barely even saying goodbye to his friends. As soon as he got back, he dumped his stuff in the hallway and seized the Ring. _This isn’t funny, you know_ , he snapped mentally.

There was no response, and the Spirit’s side of his soul remained unreachable. Ryou took the Ring off with a sigh and set to work figuring out what he’d probably missed in class.

He kept trying the Ring obsessively throughout the week, fearing that if he waited too long he’d wake up one morning drenched in his friends’ blood. It was as he was making a last routine check before bed that he noticed the first stirrings from the Spirit within.

 _Hello_ , he thought, breathlessly.

He received the mental equivalent of a groan in response.

“Good enough,” he said out loud. He’d managed to lose track of all his careful plans sometime in all the excitement of the week, so he just started talking off the top of his head. “Look, now that you’re able to pay attention we need to set some ground rules. I’m willing to let you have my body occasionally, because being a disembodied spirit has got to suck, but you have to stop using it to take over the world or kill the Pharaoh or whatever.”

He paused, realizing what he’d just said. Honestly, he probably deserved the inevitable stream of insults. “Being a disembodied spirit has got to suck”? Really?

He was so busy mentally smacking himself that he almost missed the Spirit’s response, a mumble in what Ryou was pretty sure was Ancient Egyptian.

“That’s great,” Ryou said, “but I need an answer. I know I can’t get rid of you, but I’m sure I can find a way to temporarily inconvenience you.”

There was another flurry of Ancient Egyptian. After a moment, the Spirit began again, this time in Japanese. “I’m so sorry that I seem to have offended you,” he said with contempt. “I’m afraid I’ve been a little busy trying to reassemble my soul and purge it of demonic influence. Talk to me when I’m done and I’ll happily indulge this pointless charade.”

For all the speaker’s bravado, the words came haltingly, as if the speaker was distracted or unused to the language. Even more than that, what struck Ryou was the lack of malice behind them. There was venom, yes, but this wasn’t the sound of someone who would try to destroy the world.

The speaker had mentioned a demonic influence, too. And while Ryou didn’t know much about what had happened in the Memory World, he was pretty sure Yugi had mentioned a demon that had been living in the Ring. He took a moment to process all this information. “… You’re not the Spirit, are you?”

“No, I’m one of the ninety-nine other people trapped in this accursed artifact.” There was a pause. “Unfortunately, he was me after being corrupted by that fiend. Did he really try to destroy the world? That seems rather excessive.”

Ryou was startled into a slightly hysterical laugh. “I’m afraid subtlety wasn’t really his thing. He was much more into the evil laughs and diabolical plans branch of villainy.”

“Gods, that thing’s influence was even worse than I’d imagined.” The not-Spirit sounded positively scandalized. “And to think, he still called himself the Thief King.”

Ryou forced himself to calm down. The not-Spirit was affable enough, but that didn’t mean he was safe or trustworthy. “Does this mean you’re not going to try and destroy the world? Because I’d certainly appreciate it.”

“Of course not, I’d be stupid to try.” He snorted, or conveyed the impression that he had. “Either I’d draw the wrath of the Pharaoh again, likely ensuring my own permanent demise, or I’d succeed and end up destroying myself. I’d much rather stick to plans that actually benefit me.”

“Right,” Ryou said. They’d probably need to discuss what those plans were, but that could wait. The not-Spirit made it sound like he’d need a while to recover, and in the meantime Ryou had homework. “Okay, I’m going to take the Ring off again. Before I do, though, who exactly are you? It would just be confusing to call you the Spirit too…”

“You can call me your liege,” the voice said grandiosely.

“Yeah, no,” Ryou said.

“I have been known as the Thief King, the Terror of the Desert, the Pharaoh’s Bane.”

“That’s nice. Can I just have your name?”

“Fine,” the not-Spirit said grudgingly. “I am called Bakura.”

Ryou rubbed his temples. “Thief King it is, then. Thanks, destiny.”

He took the Ring off before he had to endure any more snark from a man who’d been dead for thousands of years. Not that that was a new experience, and in fact hearing it again was almost comforting. As glad as he was to have his life back, he’d found himself almost missing the Spirit. He’d spent so long bound to him, and now he found himself adrift.

Having the Thief King around would help, he thought. It would be nice to have someone he could talk about his experiences with. For some reason, most people found it disarming when Ryou mentioned mysterious scars appearing on his body, let alone magical comas. It sounded like the Thief King would be much more willing to laugh about it with him.

He shook his head and started going over his notes, humming softly. As dangerous as it was, he found himself thinking that maybe things were going to work out for once.


End file.
